Customer Reviews

Would I Lie to You (Gossip Girl, No. 10)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've been reading the GG series since book 3 came out, and well, I hate all the characters, and their choices, but can't seem to stay away. It's just because the books are exceptionally well written for what is basically trash fiction.
The reason I'm writing this is the reviewer before me made a point that they couldn't understand what's happened in the last two books. What's happened is that Cecily Von Ziegesar had only intended the series to run to 8 books. Now she's concentrating on The It Girl series, and starting from book 9, she's handed Gossip Girl over to a ghostwriter (notice the books now say "created by" instead of just "by"). I myself couldn't really tell before I found out, since I feel this ghostwriter has captured the tone of the books perfectly. They do have a few problems-the constant dropping of storylines and characters practically mid-sentence comes to mind.
The big problem to me is that if the publisher is so willing to keep this series running that they would switch authors, then it is now about money, and not serving the characters or the story.
I've felt that for the last few books, Gossip Girl has been winding to a conclusion. One of the only reasons I've kept up is that I'm fascinated by the mystery of who the titular Gossip Girl might be. The series needs to end before it loses grace. However, after reading Would I Lie to You (which includes some fairly insane plot twists, even for these characters), I get the uncomfortable feeling that Alloy intends to milk GG for all it's worth. And even for a "stupid teenage series" it deserves better than that.

This is the tenth installment of GOSSIP GIRL, the wildly popular and very scandalous series with the kind of characters that you know you want to hate but can't. Just because they are who they are!

Serena van der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf, and Nate Archibald are still caught in their never-ending love triangle. Serena and Blair were hanging out at Bailey Winter's house as his "inspiration" until they get fed up with the annoying look alike "Eurotrash" models also staying with Bailey! And guess who happens to live next door???

Nate was working at his Coach's house for "you know what" until he figures out that his Coach's wife has a crush on him! Vanessa walks out of her summer nanny job that she really hates! Dan finds a friend in the new employee at Strand, the hottest bookstore in New York City. They start a "parlor" and things end up getting pretty wild! Some old couples reunite at Serena's eighteenth birthday party, toward the end of the book.

If you're like me and have read the entire GOSSIP GIRL series, then WOULD I LIE TO YOU? definitely makes the whole story just a little bit more twisted. If you decide to read this book, I would advise you to read the books in order, other wise you might get a little confused! And that would totally ruin the first nine books!

Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

Manhattan may be the most glamorous place in the world, filled with shopping, sights, and the finest dining you'll ever experience. But when the summer rolls around, it's nothing more than a sticky, sweltering nightmare that leaves you glistening under an unattractive sheen of sweat, and wearing as little as legally possible. So it's no surprise that when you want to beat the heat, the best place to head is the Hamptons, where the beaches are filled with babes, hot bodies, and bikinis. After all, there's nothing as seductive as a little fun in the sun - rich folk style!

Blair Waldorf is finally in a state of bliss. The debacle involving Lord Marcus is nothing more than a thing of the past. She finally has her frenemy Serena van der Woodsen on her side. And she's snagged a job working as fashion designer Bailey Winter's muse for the summer - alongside Serena - which basically consists of looking fabulous, and lounging around the petite man's sprawling Georgica Pond estate. Sounds simple, but when you're pining over the green-eyed love of your life - Nate Archibald - and trying to contend with a wannabe-Blair Eastern waif named Ibiza, who just do happens to be living under the same roof as you, you can't help but feel angered 24/7. Looks like someone needs to take a chill pill, or spend a little one-on-one time with her American Express card.

Nate Archibald is having the worst summer of his life. After pilfering some of Coach Michaels' forbidden pills, N has been forced to dive headfirst into the unglamorous world of manual labor. Sure, it was fun at first, with a brief flirtation with a Long Island native named Tawny. But now things have gone straight downhill. Nate has finally come to his senses, and knows that Blair is the true love of his life, but has no idea how to win her heart - again. And attempting to escape the uncomfortable advances of Coach Michaels' wife, Babs, is becoming a full-time job of its own, leaving N in a perpetual state of agitation and discomfort. Maybe if you laid off the weed, things would look a little clearer.

Serena van der Woodsen has just wrapped filming on her big screen debut, Breakfast At Fred's, and is looking to finally start her summer. And what better way to party hardy than by tossing on a Missoni swimsuit, and grabbing your best friend - or enemy, depending on what day it is - and heading to the Hamptons. As the blonde-haired muse of Bailey Winter, Serena is confident that this will be the summer of a lifetime. But after a few obnoxious moments with her European clone, Svetlana; and a handful of longing looks in Nate's direction, Serena can't help but feel envious and depressed. I guess that's what happens when you're the birthday girl, and everyone seems to have forgotten that your big day has arrived.

While New York party girl, Jenny Humphrey, is off gallivanting around Prague, sketchbook in tow, Vanessa Abrams has made herself quite comfortable in little J's bedroom. But when her job as a nanny gives her the opportunity to flee the stuffy confines of the city - and Dan Humphrey's cheating heart - Vanessa is convinced that this is her chance to try something new. Too bad she's expected to spend her time chasing around two spoiled mongrels, as opposed to hanging out in the sun. But maybe she'll gain a little insight into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and create a documentary that will make everyone's jaws drop. Maybe not. Dan, on the other hand, is finally settling into life as a worker at the Strand. But when a new co-worker steps into the picture, as well as the creation of a literary salon, Dan's sexuality is tested, and all bets are off.

As the summer comes to a head, it's obvious that Cecily von Ziegesar is working on winding down the GOSSIP GIRL series, and begin to create a little closure into the lives of some of our favorite characters. Unfortunately, each time we think we're finally satisfied with how things are working out, a new revelation comes about and turns everything upside down. Case in point, Blair's sudden infatuation with Nate. Serena's transformation from happy-go-lucky to depressed all the time. Dan's new thoughts regarding relationships. Vanessa's determination to reconnect with Blair and Serena before each of them heads off to their respective new institutions for higher learning. And Nate's new, mature outlook on...everything. With one more book to go, it looks like we'll all be in for a surprise. Forget diamonds; Cecily von Ziegesar is a girl's best friend!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

In WOULD I LIE TO YOU, most of the Gossip Girl crew moves to the Hamptons for the last summer before college. While not the best novel in the series, fans will still enjoy keeping up with Blair, Serena, Nate, Vanessa and Dan.

A few differences from previous installments are notable. Gossip Girl herself has gone from funny to flirty. Serena is changing a bit and finds herself competing with Blair in new ways, which may damage their friendship permanently. Dan struggles with sexual identity, which will be a huge surprise for readers of the series. And the language has become stronger in this book, with inclusions of the four-letter word.

Still, there is plenty of fun in this tenth volume. Serena and Blair start by being muses to a hotshot designer at his house in the Hamptons only to find that he has also installed two foreign copycats of them. They are like cheap versions of the series stars, with knockoffs and dyed hair. Serena and Blair trick them into going naked, crashing parties and more, as they emphasize who is original and who is not.

In the meantime, Nate spots the naked girls from his Hampton house next door and starts to wonder why he ever left Blair. His summer of work at Coach's house turns dangerous when Mrs. Coach tries to engage him in an affair. Nate does what he does best, which is to run from anything confrontational. But will Blair run with him?

Dan is impressed with a new co-worker at the Strand who wants to start a literary Salon. But there is very little literature being discussed at the event. People are pairing up instead for a makeout session, and Dan is surprised when his male co-worker kisses him. Is he experimenting? Is he really gay? What is going on?

Vanessa heads for the Hamptons as a nanny, but soon ends up as the new muse for the fashion designer instead. That is, until she gets fired. Vanessa usually ends up on her feet, but this time she finds herself back in Jenny's old room next to Dan's, trying to figure this one out.

Serena and Blair run away together with Nate. As they get ready to head off into the sunset (literally), they make one last stop for Serena's 18th birthday party. It is a night of reveling and revelation all the way around with soul-baring confessions. Readers are left hanging with some big questions. Will Nate still be able to go to Yale now that he dissed Coach's summer job? Will he and Blair be together? Will Serena's confession drive her and Blair apart forever this time?

The same questions continue to pop up even as the Gossip Girl crew grows and tries to change. Even if WOULD I LIE TO YOU isn't as strong as others in the series, there is something irresistible about these characters and the mistakes they keep making. Readers will be waiting to see what happens when the gang goes to college.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

I am in definite agreement with the majority of the reviews. "Would I Lie to You" is a sad piece of evidence of what happens when you take something fresh and successful and turn it into a cliched work of garbage. And while I do agree with one reviewer that stated that this book was written purely for entertainment and not to win a nobel prize, I will point out that the book should be WELL-WRITTEN!

The ghostwriter has no conception of how to tell a good story and even more importantly doesn't understand the characters. Though von Ziegesar did make her characters curse, this ghostwriter overkilled with the profanity. It always seemed that Blair and especially Serena were too classy to be dropping the F-bomb in every sentence they spoke. Not to mention that the Serena von Ziegesar created doesn't seem to have enough emotional depth to have pined secretly for her best friend's boyfriend for a year and then become suddenly depressed and scared when Nate and Blair reunite. Deciding to write a sappy Dear John letter to end their romance was not only a stupid device used to create tension but was another indication that the ghostwriter can't successfully continue this series. In addition, GG (whoever that may be and now who cares) dropped so many product endorsements and wrote so many how to lists, I began to skip pages in boredom. The ghostwriter lacks any flair or style to make the readers care who the anonymous GG is and boasting about where the wealthy go to vacation and what designer sunscreen they use can't make up for the fact that the premise of "gossiping" about these self centered characters has grown stale.

When I was teenager I loved reading YA fiction because it was fun and you didn't necessarily have to think too hard about what you were reading. I still like to pick up a teen series every now and then for the same reason. Though I may have over-analyzed something meant to be a pleasurable escape from real literature, I cannot help but be upset that a clever series has been degraded to horribly written pulp. Readers may not look deeply into the style or character development but if you've stayed with the series since Book 1, you have probably learned to care to anticipate what these characters will do or go through next. It's an insult to those readers who have really enjoyed these books. Alloy Entertainment should have let this series end with Book 8.

When Gossip Girl first came out, I enjoyed it. Yes, it is a completely unrealistic view of the world but it was fun and well-written and we all need a little fantasy in our lives. But the backwards slide that I noticed in "Nothing Can Keep Us Together" and "Only in Your Dreams" has turned into an avalanche in "Would I Lie to You".

By the time I finished reading this one, I was left more confused than when I began. I was so surprised at the number of unfinished plot lines that I actually turned around and read it again to make sure that I hadn't missed a few chapters somewhere. Nope. It was just that imcomplete. I can see leaving a few cliff-hangers to carry over into the next book but this one made me feel like it was written quickly to get out by a certain date and cut off in the middle of a thought.

The bottom line for me is this: I will probably check out the next book but only to see if they tie up any of the loose threads left from this one. I'm guessing no.

I was VERY dissapointed in this Gossip Girl book. It made me mad when I read the previous reveiws on the last book, saying that she had a ghost writer. Why I was mad, I have no idea. But, while first reading this book I was looking for hints that Cicly did not write this.
But I didn't have to look very closely for hints. They popped right at me.
What ever happened to the scandelous, love-to-hate, trashy teen read that we always read?
I guess it went in the garbage. This book was exactly the oppoiste.
It seemed to me that the ghost writer was trying to milk every last bit of scandal. The book was too predictable. By the first few chapters, you already knew the ending. There was no need to finish it.
The Gossip Girl letters were horrible. They were no-longer quirky, sarcastic and fun. They were long, boring, and sounded like a wannabe Gossip Girl. The e-mails to GossipGirl were clearly from the characters. In the previous books, they did un-known characters, and random people adding the character's e-mails occasionally. Now its so obvious who they are from and crap.

As you can see I'm clearly dissapointed in this story, and feel horrible for writing this. The GG series was my favorite...untill now. Cecily better be working on The Itgirl because thats where she has the last bit of hope for continuing her rep as a good writer.

The all too perfect summer dreams of our favorite pampered teens have turned into nightmares. Serena has landed a starring role in a movie and then discovered that she can't act and oh, yeah, her hunky leading man is gay. Blair was swept off her feet by a hunky English Lord and then discovered that not all fairy tales have happy endings. Dan began to uncover facets of his personality that he might have preferred to leave covered. Vanessa has landed the last job that anybody would have ever thought of. Nate's summer job has seemed to develop some really bizarre additional duties. Jenny though seems to be having a great time in Europe even though no one finds the time to write to her.

This is the tenth in the popular GOSSIP GIRL series of novels targeted for the young adult (15 and older) audience that follows the escapades of a group of privileged New York teens. Their antics have gotten increasing more outre as the series has progressed so this is not a book to be shared with younger siblings. It is though quite addictive causing the reader to keep turning the pages to find out what will happen next.

I purchased this item for my niece for Christmas. She was very happy with it. I was pleased with the condition and expedience of its arrival. I will purchase from this seller again.

While reading this book, I felt like the writer (which I heard is no longer Cecily von Ziegesar but a ghost writer now) had no clue about what had happened in the previous books. The characters' actions were very out-of-character. Serena is shocked to hear Nate tell Blair he loves her (which was not even the first time for that) and suddenly she has always been in love with Nate. Serena and Nate were not that into each other when they were together. To quote from Nothing Can Keep Us Together from Serena's point of view on page 216, "it had never been right, her and Nate being together. And it would be better be single this summer so she could focus on the film. At least now she wouldn't have to bother breaking with him. Not that they'd ever really been together." And now she's in love with him...yeah, right.
This book was a huge disappointment. I waited so eagerly for it, expecting it to be like the other books, only to be let down. Those who read the series will want to read the last two books but expect them to be awful in comparison to the previous ones and the characters to not act like themselves.